No advancement for local one-act plays

Published February 5, 2011 at 5:45 am

by Bruce Strand, Arts edttor

The Elk River, Rogers and Zimmerman one-act plays all fell short of advancing through sub-sectionals on Saturday.

Elk River’s drama “The Cow Bird” about a pre-war Nazi family with a devastating secret was one of five entries in a sub-section held at Zabee Theatre. ERHS got one first-place vote and two fifth-place votes, a situation director Phil Bologna said was “bizarre.” One judge expressed discomfort with the Nazi theme.

“We had a good performance, and when the runner-up was announced, our kids were pretty sure we had won,” said Bologna. “They were pretty disappointed.”

Andover and St. Michael-Albertville advanced.

Rogers’ entry, “Us and Them,” a tale of suspicion and conflict between two groups of settlers, placed third among five schools in a sub-section at Anoka, behind Anoka and Blaine.

“Our actors once again performed well and seem to get better every time,” said director B.J. Brent. “Considering (our) limited resources — we rehearse in a computer lab — we competed very well against some very tough competition. We had fun and entertained, so not all was lost.”

Zimmerman, with “The Devil and Danielle Webster,” about a man trying to get out of a contract with the devil, competed in a sub-section at Pine City where Rush City placed first and Pine City second. “We did well, but we did not advance,” said director Jon Palshewski.